Woodland JV football team beats Pioneer JV 14-6

"Best friends since first grade," Woodland's Jay Munoz professed about his relation to Andy Penunuri Jr. while the junior varsity players stood victorious on the Pioneer High School Stadium field Thursday.

Dating back to the year after they met, the two sophomores been a part of teams that topped the crosstown rivals -- until last year, when their Woodland frosh football team lost to the Patriots.

"They won last year, so I'm pretty sure they wanted to keep going," said Penunuri Jr., a quarterback who hit Munoz three times for 36 yards and a score. "But we were too hungry for it."

Surely the Wolves would've liked to scarf the Patriots whole, but they'll take the close 14-6 JVwin.

Especially because Woodland was looking for revenge.

Once Penunuri Jr. found Munoz for a 15-yard touchdown toss in the third quarter, the quarterback could envision completing that goal.

"We actually woke up, to knowing that we're still in this game," Penunuri Jr. said. "From there we just kept going. drove it down the field, scored again, and after that our defense just did really good."

The Patriots gained just 53 yards beside a 63-yard trick-play score.

"We pretty much shut them down defensively," Woodland coach David Cain said. "Without that one trick play it would have been a shutout."

Pioneer pulled what most call a sleeper play early in the third quarter.

With the contest still scoreless, the Patriots sent receiver Noah Otero out toward the left sideline after the huddle before having him zip down that sideline upon snapping the ball.

"When I got into the touchdown, I was pretty shocked," said Otero, who caught a 63-yard touchdown from Easton Vidales. "I was really happy."

In a way, Otero was making up for a costly turnover on the Pioneer's previous drive. He caught a first-down pass around midfield but had it stripped by the Wolves and picked up by Woodland's Alex Graham.

"When I fumbled that ball, my teammates brought my head back up," Otero said of his scoring grab, "and I actually did something that changed the momentum."

Munoz could say the same of his touchdown snag.

"The safety was playing deep (so) I knew Andy was going to hit me," Munoz said. "It's the connection, me and him. Since first grade we've always had the chemistry. We just knew, automatically, that we were going to get the ball and we were going to score."

That confidence stemmed from Cain.

In the second half, the coach told his squad, "We're just gonna line it up and run it at them until they stop us.'"

Following the win, Cain added, "And they didn't stop us."

The Wolves had a little help from their freshmen friends, Nolan Dahler and Michael Mata.

Dahler gained 124 yards on 16 carries and Mata subbed in for the injured Nick Cain at right guard.

"He's a true power running back," said of Dahler, who also played middle linebacker Thursday for the first time this season. "He may not look the part, but he's just a little tank."

Woodland coach Ryan Juarez agreed.

"He's ready physically and mentally to play varsity next year," Juarez said of Dahler. "He's a man amongst boys."

Cain's praise kept going, too.

"(Dahler) runs hard and is very hard to bring down," he said. "He's very elusive, he's fast. He just doesn't give up, man."

Couldn't have hurt that Mata and the offensive line overpowered Pioneer.

"Our offensive line was just phenomenal," Cain said. "They opened up all those holes for Dahler to run the ball."

Penunuri called them "the biggest holes I've seen all year."

When Penunuri and Munoz were asked how long they've known Dahler, they argued over whether it was third or fourth grade. But Munoz ended the discussion by saying simply, "we're all family."